The old, old story

There is an old Gospel hymn, Tell Me the Old, Old Story. It goes on: ... of unseen things above, of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and his love. In the second verse there is the phrase: Tell me the story often, for I forget so soon.
When I was young I would get impatient with pastors preaching what seemed to me the same sermon over and over. I would tell myself, "I know this stuff; tell me something new!"
I was reminded of this impatience of the young and the reassurance of repetition to the old as I was reading from 2nd Peter today. Peter writes:
Therefore I intend to keep on reminding you of these things, though you know them already and are established in the truth that has come to you. ... And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
It's not only the old who need reassurance; we especially need to repeat God's message to the young. The challenge is to do it in fresh ways with applications that matter in their daily lives. It is through repetition that they will "be able at any time to recall these things."
+ pax